OMAHA, Neb.—The Big Red wrestling team sits in second place after day two of the NCAA tournament after advancing Kyle Dake and Mack Lewnes to the finals at 141 and 174 pounds, respectively. Cornell finished the day with four All-Americans as Cam Simaz and Troy Nickerson will wrestle Saturday for at least a sixth place finish.
Dake faced Reece Humphrey of Ohio State in his semifinal match. In the third matchup of these two wrestlers, Humphrey started the action with a single leg on Dake, but the Cornell freshman defended against the takedown. The Ohio State wrestler was then able to get the takedown he wanted and a stalemate brought the action back to center. Humphrey was cautioned, and Dake was able to escape before the end of the period. Humphrey started the second period neutral, and though both wrestlers looked hungry for points, no additional points were scored. Dake was down for the third period, and hopped to his feet for an escape. Both wrestlers looked cautious the rest of the period and no more points were scored, bringing the 2-2 match into overtime. No points were scored in the sudden death overtime. In the first tiebreaker, Humphrey was down, and Dake held his opponent down for the 30 second period with numerous, heavy mat returns. Dake was down for the second tiebreaker and escaped early. He was warned for stalling, but ultimately came out on top with a 3-2 win to advance to the finals.
In his quarterfinal match, Dake and No. 9 Levi Jones (Boise State) were scoreless after two minutes of wrestling. Dake converted a shot from his opponent to his advantage to get the first takedown of the match. He had just rolled his opponent to his back when the two went out of bounds. Jones started down in the second and was cautioned for a false start. The Boise State wrestler struggled to get up but between Dake's aggressive mat returns and his strength, Jones was unable to escape. Instead, Dake was able to turn his opponent twice first earning two points of near fall and then three back points. The Cornell freshman kept his opponent down for the rest of the period. Dake started down in the third and got to his feet but was unable to get his opponents grip free, and Jones was warned for stalling. The two went out, and back at center, Dake was able to stand for the escape. Determined, Dake captured a double leg and got another takedown. With 2:09 of riding time and a final score of 11-0, Dake won his quarterfinal bout.
Lewnes' semifinal match was against Stephen Dwyer of Nebraska. After a scoreless first period, Lewnes started down for the second period and was cautioned, but he earned an early escape. The Cornell junior got in on a leg, but an out of bounds call prevented him from earning takedown points. Dwyer chose down for the third, and like Lewnes, got a quick escape. Lewnes then fought for a takedown, and an injury call by the Nebraska wrestler moved the action back to center. Dwyer earned the escape right after the whistle, but no additional points were scored, and Lewnes won the match with a final score of 3-2.
In the quarterfinal bout at 174 pounds, Lewnes faced No. 8 Colby Covington of Oregon State. Lewnes controlled most of the action in the first with strong defensive skills, and the two were scoreless after the first period. Lewnes was down to start the second, and flipped back out for the escape. Covington was warned for stalling after numerous shots by Lewnes. The Cornell junior then captured his opponent on his back but no points were awarded. Covington chose the down position for the third and shortly escaped. With no additional points and a 1-1 score, the two wrestlers went into sudden death overtime. Convington got in on a leg with 20 seconds to go, but Lewnes countered to capture his opponent's leg. No points awarded and the two moved into tiebreakers. Lewnes started down for the first tiebreaker period, and he got the escape with 20 seconds remaining. With Covington down, Lewnes rode hard for the first 15 seconds, but ultimately, the Oregon State opponent was able to escape. The two went back to sudden victory overtime and Lewnes got a single and used an outside trip to take his opponent down for the victory with a final score of 4-2.
In the quarterfinals, Simaz faced No. 5 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin), 8-5. Brandvold started out with a double leg to take down Simaz. The Wisconsin wrestler chose down in the second and escaped early, but Simaz countered with a double to get the takedown. Brandvold managed one more escape bringing the score to 4-2 at the end of the second. Simaz chose down to start the third and escaped right away only to turn around to get a high crotch in on his opponent for the takedown. A potentially dangerous call returned action back to the center, which resulted in an escape for Brandvold. Simaz went right back at it with another takedown. With 1:11 of riding time, Simaz won with a final score of 8-5
In the semifinals, Simaz faced the No. 1 seed Jake Varner of Iowa State. The two went out of bounds twice with high action, but they were scoreless after the first. Varner started down in the second and got a quick escape. Simaz received his second stalling call and Varner was awarded a point. The rest of the period, both wrestlers were ready for a takedown but no other points were scored. After a short blood time for Varner, Simaz started neutral for the third. Varner went for another double, but Simaz defended the takedown and a stalemate was called. Late in the period, Varner went in on a single and got the takedown, then two points of nearfall. The final match score was 6-0 Varner.
In a matchup between Brad Pataky and Troy Nickerson, Pataky started the match with a takedown over Nickerson. Nickerson was able to get a reversal, but Pataky escaped shortly after The Penn State wrestler got in on a double to take down Nickerson, who escaped before the conclusion of the period. Pataky chose neutral for the second period and a great scramble ended with a takedown for Nickerson. The Cornell senior, then captured his opponent on his back and looked for the pin but just came away with three nearfall points. Nickerson was down to start the third period. The Cornell wrestler escaped and no further points were scored in the match. The final score was 9-5 in favor of Nickerson. In the match against Anthony Robles, Nickerson's takedown in the first period ended up being the winning points he needed to defeat Robles with a score of 2-1.
In his first wrestleback match, Nickerson took on Stanford's Ryan Mangon at 125. Nickerson started his match with a quick takedown. The Cornell wrestler looked for back points for over a minute, and finally secured the bar to get the three points late in the period. Mango chose down in the second, and Nickerson immediately turned him for a commanding pin in 3:13.
Nickerson moved on to face Virginia's Ross Gitomer. After a scoreless first period, Nickerson was down to start the second and grabbed a quick escape. After numerous shots by Nickerson, Gitomer was warned for stalling then took injury time. Gitomer chose neutral for the third period, but Nickerson met his opponent with a takedown. The Cornell senior looked for a turn, but time ran out before he could secure back points. With 1:07 of riding time, Nickerson won the match 4-0.
At 133 pounds, Grey opened the day by facing off against Lock Haven's John Trumbetti. Trombetti surprised Grey early by sending him to his back, but Grey instantly flipped out before a takedown was awarded. After a scramble, Trombetti shot, but Grey held off the points and a stalemate was called. Back at neutral Grey went in for a low single, and fought hard to get the takedown in the waning seconds of the period. Grey started down in the second period, and popped up quickly to earn his escape point. After numerous shots by Grey, Trombetti was warned for stalling. Grey took several more shots, but no further points were secured. Trumbetti started in the down position, and Grey hungrily flattened his opponent the moment the whistle blew. A minute later, however, the Lock Haven wrestler was able to pop up to his feet. Trumbetti shot and Grey countered with a go-behind to get another takedown. With 1:22 of riding time, Grey won the match with a final score of 6-1.
Against, Oklahoma's Kendric Maple, Grey captured an early takedown near the edge of
the mat. The two wrestlers returned to center after an out of bounds call, the Oklahoma wrestler escaped. Grey got one more takedown with just 20 seconds left in the first. Maple was down to start the second. Grey remained on top for the majority of the period, but his opponent was able to get an escape. Grey chose down for the third period. He earned the escape toward the end of the period and won the match with a final score of 7-3. Grey was knocked out of the tournament by No. 8 Tyler Graff of Wisconsin with a final score 14-5.
After a physical first period, Kerber was scoreless with Hofstra's Paul Gillespie in his first match of the day. Gillespie chose down to start second. Kerber demonstrated a hard ride and flattened his opponent out and tried for the bar. His ride kept his Hofstra opponent scoreless. Kerber was down to start the third, and after almost a minute managed an escape by climbing to his feet. Kerber took down his opponent with just 30 seconds remaining to win the match with a final score 3-0 with 1:47 riding time.
Kerber's next opponent was No. 3 Nick Marable of Missouri. Marable had a single and went in for the trip, but Kerber was able to squirm free. The Missouri wrestler went in for a double, but Kerber defended and the two went out of bounds. The two traded shots but remained scoreless after the first period. The Cornell wrestler chose down for the second period, got right to his feet, and turned to face his opponent for the escape. Kerber was warned after several shots by Marable, but got back into action to take his opponent to his back for a takedown and two nearfall points. With only two seconds left, Marable got the escape. Marable was down for the third, and managed his escape 10 seconds into the period. Kerber went in for a double and got a takedown, and again Marable managed a quick escape. A stalemate call brought the action back to center. Kerber was hit with another stalling call, and his opponent was awarded a point. With a final score of 7-4, Kerber defeated the No. 3 seed. Kerber ended the day with a hard-fought loss to No. 7 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, 3-2.
Bosak took on No. 8 Louis Caputo for the third time this season at 184 pounds. The first period was scoreless, and starting down in the second, Bosak immediately jumped up for the escape. He turned and grabbed a leg, and using an inside trip, sent Caputo straight to the mat for the takedown. Moments later, Bosak captured his opponent in a cradle and pinned him in 3:29.
Bosak came out strong in his match against Zack Giesen of Stanford. Bosak converted his opponent's shot to a takedown straight to his back and pinned his second opponent of the day in 31 seconds. In his final match of the day, Bosak lost to Illinois' John Dergo, 9-5.
Simaz and Nickerson will wrestle Saturday morning in the place matches beginning at 10 a.m. CST, while Dake and Lewnes will be in the finals Saturday night.
